Tainted Love
by Der Traumer
Summary: Riku picks up a girl who just broke up with her boyfriend, takes her home with him, and then Tidus gets raped while he's sleeping with her ex. Drama ensues!


what to say? This is my first KH fic, so be gentle. No flames pretty please with cherries and whipcream and caramel, but constructive critism is always welcome!

Disclaimer: Riku, Sora, and Tidus belong to squaresoft, not me, but the rest of the cast as well as the plot is MINE.

Warning:strong language, adult themes, m/m rape (if that idea bugs you please stop reading now). i think that covers everything

This for DieChan, who was way passed cool and reviewed _Sold._ You Rock!

Oh, yeah and I can't type for crap, but i had this combed for typoes by two people and me, so it SHOULD be okay.

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**Tainted Love**

I shrugged my coat off and turned into the kitchen. This damn day job left me starving. I grabbed a chocolate bar off the counter and slumped down into a kitchen chair, kicking off my heals as I did so. "Soooorrra!" I yelled.

There was no answer. But he was always home before me. "Sooooora! You home?" Still nothing.

"That's odd." I sat up in the chair and saw the light flashing on the answering machine. Taking another bite out of my candy bar, I hit the play button.

"You have 1 old message; you have 1 new message," the mechanical voice recited.

"Message one…"

"Hi, I'm Candy, and your appointment at Sensual Healing is at seven tonight, 'kay? Seya then."

I almost dropped the candy bar. That son of a bitch! He was going to some whore house behind my back.

"Message two…"

"Hey, Sasha, look I'm not going to be home utill late tonight, okay, so don't wait up for me. Love you."

I let out an outraged scream, flung the half eaten candy bar across the room and stormed into our bedroom, where I proceeded to dump the little clothing I'd brought with me into a suitcase. I went into his wallet, which the idiot had left sitting on the nightstand, and stuffed all his twenties into my back pocket.

OoOoO

From where I sat on the leather sofa I heard the door quietly click shut. "Have fun?" I asked.

He started and flipped on the lights.

"Sa…Sasha, I told you not to wait up for me."

"Really? I didn't really catch that last message; all I really heard was this." I hit the play button.

"Hi, I'm Candy, and…" I slammed my hand down on stop. "Am I not good enough for you? Am I not pretty enough? Huh, Sora?"

He swallowed, "Look, I can explain…"

"There's nothing to explain, you cheating bastard. And since I'm apparently not good enough for you, I'm leaving." I didn't wait for his reply; I didn't care.

An hour later I'm sitting in a bar at a place called Café Xtasy, glaring at a shot of vodka that's been sitting there for about that long.

"You know there was no point in ordering the thing if you weren't going to drink it."

With swollen red eyes I look up at the bartender. He's mentions something to me about every five minutes or so, just to see if I'm alive. "Yeah, I know."

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

"That's what everybody says."

"Probably."

"Boyfriend dump you?" he tries a new approach.

"Nah, I dumped the stupid bastard, he was seeing some whore behind my back."

"Aaah, don't normally get that story."

I nod and resume glaring at the vodka. Then, decisively, I pick up the thing and dump it down my throat. It burns and I gag and cough. He slides a glass of water across the counter. "You don't drink much do ya?"

I shake my head. "Nah, never needed to."

He didn't say anything for the rest of the evening. "Hey, look missy, we close in twenty minutes; you might wanna get going."

"Uh... yeah, sure. Thanks. Bye!" I stand and walk out the door. Much to my dismay, it's pouring outside. "Oh, God this is just not my day!" I stand in the door for a long time trying to decide what to do. I could walk back to Sora's and my apartment, but that wouldn't work out real well. I had an apartment on the other side of town, but…

"Hey, how come you're still here?"

I spin around and find that I'm staring into the aquamarine eyes of the bartender. "I…uh…"

"You need a ride?"

I take one last glance at the down pouring rain, look towards Sora's apartment, and look back at the bartender. "That would be great."

He tosses me a helmet, which I catch and stare at dumbly.

"Come on, are you gonna put it on or what?"

I put the helmet on and walked over to his bike. "Uh…nice ride," I manage.

"Thanks." He gracefully swings himself on and I climb awkwardly on behind him. "Hang on tight."

I don't need to be told twice. As he speeds out of the parking lot, I cling to his waist for dear life. "Where to?" he shouts over the roar of the engines and the pelting of the rain.

I managed to shout directions over the noise.

He squealed to a stop in the parking lot of my apartment building. Only there was no apartment building, only a pile of dilapidated wood and ashes. I had only been living with Sora for two weeks, how could this have happened?

"Uh…maybe I gave you the wrong address, I'm the next lot over."

He looks at me suspiciously, but drives over to the next building anyway.

"Thanks," I say, pulling the helmet off and grabbing my suitcase off the back.

I walk up the stairs, but when I look back once I get to the top, he's still on his bike staring at me. "Byyyyye!" I shout, hoping he takes this as a sign that he can leave, but he just waves and waits.

The door nearest to me opens. "Sasha, there you are! Ever since the fire three days ago we've been looking for you." It takes me a moment, but I recognize her as the old woman who lived next door. "I'm staying with my cousin; do you have anywhere to stay?"

"Um…"

"Yeah, she's staying with me." I spin around to see the bartender standing behind me.

"Sasha, who might this nice young gentleman be?"

I start to answer, but again, he interrupts. "I'm Riku, ma'am, Sasha's boyfriend."

"Oh, how sweet!" And with that she closes the door.

I want to start yelling at him right there, but I don't want to risk being overheard, so I drag Riku down the steps.

"I don't even know you! Who do you think you are? You can't just…say stuff like that!"

He stands there quietly while I upbraid him, then when I do finish he asks, "Are you done now? Because we're both getting wetter than we already were."

"Why you…" Yet somehow I can't bring myself to hit him, especially when I realize that he might…_might_…just be serious about letting me stay with him. I sigh and stare down at my feet.

"You wanna stay at my place?"

I sigh again, louder, and shrug. "Why the hell not?"

He grins and hops on his bike, offering me the helmet again. I pull it on and wrap my arms around his waist, absently nuzzling my head against his back.

We stumble up the pitch-black stairs to his apartment, and Riku fumbles for the light switch when we get inside.

"You're home early, Riku," a small voice shouts from the living room.

"Yeah, I didn't work tonight!"

"What!" the voice snarls and a blue eyed, yellow haired whirlwind slides into the kitchen in his sock feet. "But, Riku, I didn't work either! You're not supposed to do that! I'll go get changed."

Riku grabs his arm and yanks him closer, then bends down and whispers something in his ear.

"You better have gotten good tips! I'm not going hungry tonight!" Now he looks over at me. "Who's she?"

"Oh, this is Sasha. Sasha, this is Tidus."

"Nice to meet you." He offers me a hand, which I shake gently. He seems too small and frail. Now that he's done with acquaintances, he turns back to Riku. "So, what's for supper?"

"I'll order pizza."

OoOoO

Several hours later, after Tidus had gone to bed, I found Riku at the kitchen table. "What do you mean you didn't work tonight? I saw you working at the café."

Riku leans back in the chair and closes his eyes. "It's nothing." There's an air of depression in his voice that I don't like the sound of.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

We sit in silence after that. I yawn.

"Aw, shit, I'm sorry; let me show to your room." He stands and stretches with catlike grace, and for the first time I notice the rippling muscles of his upper body. I catch myself staring and look away before he notices then follow him into one of the back rooms. He flips on a light to reveal a well lit room filled with blue and black décor. "You can stay here as long as you like." He digs through a drawer and tosses me an oversized shirt and flannel pants. "I figure whatever's in that suitcase is soaked," he jabs finger at my suitcase which is sitting in the corner. "I'll wash and dry it tomorrow, but tonight I'm sleeping."

"Thanks…uh…g'night."

"Hope you sleep alright." He waves and strolls out lazily.

I close the door behind him and slowly get into the pajamas he gave me. Then, hesitantly I get into the bed. It feels awkward, getting into bed without someone lying next to you after you've been sleeping with someone for the better part of two months and living with them two weeks. So, after a lot of restless turning, I finally fell asleep.

OoOoO

I awake to the scent of waffles wafting its way into my room. "Mmmm," I murmur and sit with a stretch. "Whatcha' makin' Sor…" I trail remembering that I'm not in Sora's house.

"G'morning!" and excited blonde figure hurls himself onto my bed.

"Morning," I manage sleepily and stretch again.

"Aww, come on, you're as bad as Riku! Wake up, already, I made breakfast!"

He bounces on the bed as I roll back over and pull the covers over my head, not in the mood. "Wake me in an hour."

"Saaaasha," he whines and bounces on the bed, landing on my feet.

"Ow!" I start and yank my feet out from under him suddenly.

He yips in surprise and falls on his back to avoid toppling off the bed.

"What are you doing to our house guest, you little heathen?" a mocking voice teases from the doorway.

We both look up to see Riku leaning against the door frame, shirtless, his hair still tousled from sleep. I look away to hide my blush. "Good morning, Riku."

"G'morning to you, too, milady. If I may, did you sleep alright?"

"Yes, very well, thank you." I still can't hide the flush that's stretching across my nose and cheeks, and his overly formal acting along with his current state of undress is making me all the more uncomfortable.

"Good to know," he lightened up. "Now let's eat!" He grabbed Tidus by the back of his shirt and hoisted him off the bed. "Let's leave the lady to get dressed, why don't we?" Riku ruffled Tidus's hair playfully, and a squeal could be heard as he closed the door. "Oh, you can borrow anything that fits outta' the drawers, I still haven't washed your clothes!"

"Uh…thanks," I murmured and opened the top drawer. "Ugh!" I slammed it shut. I wouldn't be needing to borrow anything in there. The next drawer had shirts in it. After digging through them all, I decided on a plain form fitting black t-shirt that Riku probably looked…I mentally kicked myself before I could finish the image. From the next drawer I pulled out a pair of green cargo pants that, although they were a little big in the waist and about six inches too long, fit okay. Then, just to make sure I knew what all my options were, I opened the last drawer. My eyes widened in horror and sick feeling uncurled in my gut. It was full of black leather clothing, which upon further inspection, revealed more than it covered. These didn't seem like Riku at all, but before I had a chance to think longer on it, there was a knock on the door.

I slammed the drawer shut. "Yeah?"

"Hurry up, or Tidus is gonna eat everything," Riku answered.

Brushing aside the severe feelings of discomfort I got from when I looked through that drawer, I went to meet him in the kitchen.

Sure enough Tidus had a full plate of waffles, and there was only one remaining on the plate, which Riku puts on a plate and hands to me. "This piglet'll eat anything in sight if you give him the chance."

"I will not," Tidus managed in between bites.

"I'm sure."

I ate breakfast awkwardly, while Riku drank his coffee and watched me. "You need to be anywhere today?" Riku asked, breaking the awkward silence.

I thought a moment. "Nope, I'm off work today, cuz it's Friday."

I saw Tidus flinch across the table and stop eating.

Riku's mood seemed to diminish as well. "Cool."

"Hey, what's up? Did I say something?" I looked back and forth between Riku and Tidus. Their expressions were blank.

"It's nothing, it's just that Friday nights are busy for us is all."

That definitely wasn't it, or if it was, it wasn't everything. I didn't get to question further because the phone rang. Riku answered it, "Hello."

"Hiya, Riku, this is DD," the booming voice on the other line was loud enough that I could hear what he was saying.

"What's up, Double D?" he asked, his voice wavering a little. What the hell was going on? What was I not being told?

"You skipped work last night."

"Yeah, I know, I had to give someone a ride home. Don't worry, I'm comin' tonight."

"You betta'. Oh, and tell Tidus he's got a special assignment tonight."

Riku coughed. "Another one, D, come on, don't you remember…"

"I don't wanna hear it, Riku, this guy pays big."

"But, D, listen, he's…"

"I'll see you **_both_** tonight."

Riku cursed and slammed down the receiver. He ran his hand through his tousled silver hair.

Tidus, next to me, was practically green, and when I reached over and touched his hand he felt cold. "What's going on?" I asked him. Tidus only managed to shake his head.

Riku had stormed out onto the balcony. He'd seemed in good spirits this morning, but now… "Riku?" I reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder tenderly. "Riku? What's wrong? What did the man on the phone mean?"

"It's nothing you wanna know about, Sasha," he answered and turned to face me. He just stared at me a moment, holding the hand that I had placed on his shoulder in both of his hands. "Sasha?" he brings the hand to his face and brushes his lips against it softly. "I hardly even know you, but…can I ask a favor of you?"

"Yes…of course." I start at his sudden solemn-ness. "Anything."

"Tonight…" he trails unsure of himself for a moment, then continues, "Promise me you'll be here for Tidus when he gets home, okay, cuz he's going to need you." His eyes look glazed liked he's going to cry. He looks away from me. "Can you do that for me?"

"Y…yes," I answer, unsure of his meaning, but unable to ask.

"Thanks," he answers, and disappears inside, leaving me to ponder his words.

OoOoO

The rest of the day went by awkwardly. No one spoke to anyone. Riku talked with Tidus a lot in hushed tones behind locked doors about things that I wasn't supposed to hear, and whenever I asked about it they would both shake their heads.

Around eight they both came out of Riku's room, dressed in skintight leather that though it flattered both their figures, looked awkward on them, Tidus especially. Then I managed to put two and two together. "Riku…you're not…_he's_ not…" I couldn't bring myself to say it. "Why?"

"We have too," Riku answered matter-o-factly, "It's how we afford the rent."

"What about the club?" I ask piteously, hoping that somehow this isn't true.

"Pays for meals," Riku answered with a shrug.

I want to say something, but the words won't form in my mouth, so I step forward. "When'll you be home?"

"Tidus'll be back by 10:30, me? I haven't the slightest clue."

I didn't like this answer and I let it show on my face. "Do you want anything ready when you get back?"

He shakes his head. I've only known the two of them hardly two days and yet I can't bear to watch this happen. I squat in front of Tidus and wrap my arms around his slender shoulders. "Come back in one piece, okay?" I manage. Then I stand and face Riku, and a sigh slips through my lips. I still don't know what to say really. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

He wraps his arms around my shoulders tightly and buries his face in my hair. I can hardly hear his muffled sobs. "I…I'll be here for you too, okay," I stutter and run my hands soothingly down his back.

"Thanks," he replies as he and Tidus disappear out the door.

I sit on the couch and run my hands through my thick brown hair in thought. They'll come back okay, I tell myself over and over again, but it never seems convincing. Time drags by at a snail's rate. I pace back and forth in the kitchen, drink at least three Mountain Dews, and take a shower before the clock reaches ten. I sit on the couch and wait for him to arrive. I have to know that Tidus is okay. He's too young. My thoughts trail and ramble like this until I hear feeble knocking on the door.

I spring to my feet and fling the door open. The tiny figure stumbles in and makes his way to the couch where he collapses. "Tidus!" I kneel on the floor in front of him.

His eyes are half closed, or one of them is; the other is swollen shut. "I hate special assignments," he murmurs and rolls onto his side.

I reach out and brush stray blond locks from his eyes. "You okay? You want anything?"

He thinks a moment. "Serious painkiller."

It takes me all of thirty seconds to find. I help him drink the water to swallow the pills and then he curls up against me and closes his eyes. "You're so warm," he murmurs, and puts his small arms around my waist, "And soft." He groans and leans closer.

"You poor thing," I breath, petting his hair, and running my hand down his cheek. He nuzzles against my hand, craving the soft touches.

"I'm not that bad off, really," he tells me. "There were only four this time. Riku was still really worried though." He manages a chuckle. "He's like a mother hen most of the time. I guess he was still worried about the last special assignment. There were seven that time, and Riku got really pissed off with DD for letting that many have me, but I was okay."

I was horrified, no, worse than horrified, I was mortified. How could he say that so…bluntly?

After he falls asleep, I carry him to his room and tuck him under the covers, careful not to jostle any hidden bruises he might have.

I couldn't sleep, so I waited for Riku to come home. I heard the key turn in the lock and went to open the door for him. "Riku, you okay?" I asked and took his keys from his hands and set them on the counter. He manages a feeble nod. Though I can't see very well, there is a slight stiffness in his movements, he doesn't look bruised or hurt. "You want anything?"

"A hot bath and a nice massage," he answers sarcastically with a grin that belies the weariness in his eyes, and tousles my hair.

I take him at his word, though, and disappear into the bathroom, running the water almost as hot as I can get it. Hearing the running water, Riku saunters in. "I was kidding, Sasha."

"It's okay," I answer. He watches startled, as I stand and disappear into his room and draw out two small bottles from my suitcase. I dump one under the faucet, and the water bubbles up and the soft vanilla scent fills the air.

Riku sighs behind me. "Are you sure you'll do this for me?"

"It's the very least I could do," is all I answer, and gently wrap my arms around him protectively. He sighs again and nuzzles the top of my head affectionately.

"Thanks."

I let him go and leave, closing the door behind me. "The other bottle's soap," I call through the door. I go back to my suitcase and dig out the massage oil, then tiptoe back to the bathroom. He didn't lock the door, I realize when it turns easily in my hand. I slip in. Riku is leaned back in the tub, eyes closed. I pour a little of the oil onto my hands and carefully touch Riku's shoulders.

He starts.

"It's okay," I tell him again and gently massage the tense muscles.

He groans, and sinks a little deeper into the water. "Oh, God, Sasha." He groans louder and arches his back some. He allows me to continue my ministrations for several moments longer before suddenly he turns around. He reaches up and entangles his hand, covered in bubbles, in my hair and pulls my face down toward him. He presses his lips to mine in a passionate kiss, and I eagerly part my lips allowing his tongue to slip through. It takes a moment before I pull away for breath.

"Riku…I…why…"

The thought never makes its way past my lips, because Riku has tackled me onto the rug. He presses his lips roughly against mine again and fumbles to yank the flannel pants I'm wearing down.

"R…Riku…" I manage as he lips start to trail down my neck. "R…Riku…st…stop it…Riku!"

He pulls away some and looks down at me with half-lidded lust filled eyes. For a moment I'm terrified that he can't hear me or that he's not going to listen, but suddenly they soften and he shakes his head, flinging water droplets from his silver hair. "I'm sorry, Sasha…I…I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

I stare at my feet, feeling very very cowardly. "I…I'm sorry…I…I just…I'm not…ready."

He smiles half-heartedly and wraps a towel around his waist. "It's cool. I love you, if you're not ready, I'll wait."

He walks out without explaining any further, leaving me sitting on the floor to ponder his words. He loved me? No, no, no, that couldn't be right. I'd hardly known him two days.

OoOoO

The next morning Riku acted like nothing had happened, so I decided that I should act the same way, frustrating as it was. I really wanted to know if he had meant what he said last night. So to distract myself from the enigmatic Riku, I brought Tidus, who had decided he was bedridden, breakfast.

"Here you go." I sat the tray down on his lap where he sat in bed. "Riku made it, so it should be edible."

He grinned and stuffed a bite of pancake in his mouth.

"So, are you feeling better?" I asked after he had finished chewing. He snarfed up another bite and answered around the food.

"Much!" He grinned. "'Sides they were only bruises anyway, only a wimp wouldn't get over those."

I almost want to cry. Just bruises? They…they…think of what they did to you. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, careful to avoid the syrup. "Well aren't you brave and strong?"

Tidus looks confused when I pull away, but he takes the compliment with a genuine smile.

In Riku's room, a quiet melody slips through the door. I hum to it absently, and then realize why it's so familiar. "My cell!" I blurt and hop from the bed, darting into Riku's room and jerking the phone from my bag.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Uh…Hey Sasha, look, I'm sorry to do this to you on a weekend and all, but can you come in today? I've got a big customer meeting and I'm gonna need you to be at the phone."

I had almost forgotten that I had a job. "Yeah sure, when you need me by?"

"Ten o'clock?"

"Sure, I'll be there. Seya."

I dug through the bag a little bit more until I found the skirt and blouse I wore to work and changed into the quickly. I walked out into the kitchen, while tying my hair up. "Hey, Riku, can you give me ride? I gotta get to work."

"Yeah, sure, Sasha, gimme a sec…" he turned around and his voice trailed off. He gave me a once over that made me flush. It was just a simple short skirt and kinda snug blouse. Nothing really.

He stands up and slips his shoes on cuz they're by the door. He tosses me the extra helmet that's hanging on the coat hanger and I pull it on while following him out the door. "Where to?" he asks as I slide onto the bike behind him and wrap my arms around his waist.

I rattle off the address as he speeds out of the parking lot.

"Thanks a bunch," I tell him and hop off the bike, slinging my purse over my shoulder as I walked to the huge glass double doors.

"What time you want me to pick you up?" he asks, with out turning the bike off.

"Oh." I hadn't even thought about it, "It's okay, I'll catch a bus or something, but thanks anyway." And with that I continue my way toward the doors.

"Daaaamn, Sasha," a voice croons from behind me, "Who was that hottie?"

I turn around and stop waiting for Kira to catch up. "I'm just staying at his place since the apartments burned down," I answered matter-o-factly.

She pouts at the mention of the apartments, but I could tell she was more interested in Riku. "So, are you sleeping with him?"

I hit her on the shoulder playfully, "That's none of your business, but no, we're not. Riku is quite a gentleman and wouldn't even think of something like that."

"Riku?" she blurts excitedly, "Is that really his name? God, that's soooo…exotic!"

I just shake my head.

"Will he be here to pick you up later? Can I get his number? Will you give me his number? Pleeeease, Sasha!"

"No, he's not picking me up. No he will not give you his number, and I don't know his number, so I'm not giving it to you either."

She pouts and turns to where her desk is. "You suck, Sasha."

"Yeah, what else is new?"

The day was long…and dreary…and boring, nothing but irritated customers calling for my boss, who, because she was in her customer meeting couldn't talk to them. I would calmly take names and numbers and politely say she would get back to them as soon as she could like a good little secretary and hang up. But between these phone calls I got the chance I needed to sort out my thoughts about Riku. He was gorgeous, with silver locks and aquamarine eyes, sensual lips and perfect body. He was polite and reserved and yet there was something even more attractive about him, something I just couldn't seem to put my finger on. I sat back at my desk and stared at the ceiling. "Riku," I let the name slip through my lips quiet enough that only I could hear it.

…I thought.

"What, Sasha?" Kira leaned around the wall of the cubicle and looked at me. "Did you say something?"

I started. "No."

"I could have sworn, I heard…" She leans further around the wall. "Ah hah!" she blurts triumphantly and snatches my notepad off the desk.

"Hey!" I blurt and reach for the notepad, but it's too late, Kira has already seen it. Scribbled in around the numbers and names, is a sketch (crappy I might add) of Riku, with his name scrawled in loopy lettering above it (equally crappy).

"I know what's been wrong with you all day!" Kira shouts excitedly, causing the entire room to stare at us. We duck down some and she lowers her voice to a whisper. "You like him!" she hisses. "No, you don't like him. You're head over heals in love with him, Sasha! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…I'm not…in love with him?" it slips out as a question much to my chagrin.

"Of course you are! You don't do stuff like this unless you're in love with someone!" She pauses. "You'll realize it, soon enough, you'll start…thinking things." And without further explanation she roles her chair back to her own desk.

The phone rings and I don't have time to ponder her words further. "Hello."

I stifled a frustrated scream with a groan and leaned back in my chair. "Stupid asshole, I'm just the secretary, haven't you ever heard of 'don't shoot the messenger'" I growled at the phone, which started to ring again.

It took all my self control not to scream.

By the time I signed my time card to leave, the "asshole" had called another three times, each time more pissed off than the last, leaving me in a rather sour mood as I grabbed the bus home.

Riku answered the door with a smile. "How was your day?"

"Miserable," I murmur as he slides my coat off my shoulders for me. Absently I wonder if those hands would be willing to massage my shoulders for me.

"Hmmm, how come?" His hands slide onto my shoulders and he guides me to the couch.

I close my eyes and let myself be guided. "Stupid asshole tried to bite my head off through the phone cuz my boss couldn't get to the phone."

"That sounds horrible," his voice is almost a purr as he squeezes my shoulders gently.

"Mmmm," I murmur half in relief half in response to his touch and lean my head back on the couch. He leans down and presses his mouth to mine. I open my mouth to his tongue, which licks at my lips hungrily. His hands slip past my shoulders and start to undo the buttons of my shirt. He draws his tongue from my mouth and breaks the kiss softly. "I love you," he whispers, and walks around from behind the couch.

"I love you too," I answer as he lays himself on top of me.

OoOoO

We're lying snuggled in Riku's bed, when Tidus knocks on the door. It's late.

"Riku, we hafta' go," he shouts through the door. Riku slides himself out of bed and makes his way to his dresser.

"Do you have to?" I ask sleepily from under the sheets. He nods.

"But, Tidus isn't going tonight." He throws a pair of cargo pants at me, where I lay, and I yank them on under the covers. A shirt follows. "I'll be getting home late; you shouldn't wait up for me tonight."

"Okay," I answer and snuggle under the sheets further, still tired.

"Aishiteru, Sasha," he breathes and presses a soft kiss to my forehead then my lips.

I smile at him sleepily, "Aishiteru."

He leaves, closing the door quietly behind him.

OoOoO

Riku drags himself out from under his partner, a large abusive man that insisted on no lube. He groans, aching all over, and slides himself off the bed, searching in the dark for his clothes. Every motion sends a jolt of pain through his body, and he winces when he sits on the wood floor to pull his shoes on. Finally dressed he unlocks and opens the door.

A rough arm wraps itself around his waist, and he barely manages to stifle a yelp as his bruised middle is crushed. "We're not done."

"Yes we are," Riku answers. "You didn't pay for more."

"Then I'll pay when we're done," he growls and hoists Riku onto the bed by his stomach.

Now he can't manage to hold back the cry. A hand snaps his head to one side. "Oh, be a man about it."

He feels like he's going to die under this man. His pawing is rough and is leaving bruises, his kisses are bites, and Riku can feel blood trickling from most of them. His thrusts into Riku's body are bruising and he can feel new blood dripping down his thighs to join the old. This would be their fifth time, and as before, with no lube.

It's too much to hold back the tears and cries now, the pain is too much. Every time he cries out, though, he's dealt another bruising blow and some new insult. Finally the man comes with a loud moan, and drags himself off Riku.

"You're a lousy fuck," he retorts at the still recovering Riku, "You're not tight enough for the struggle you put up."

Riku can hardly hear him. His heart's thumping, his ears are ringing, and his head aches. Black spots dance across his vision, he feels like he's going to black out. "Help," he groans, hoping desperately that someone'll hear him.

Rikin yawns and stretches as he heads to the back room to get cleaned up before his next customer arrives, when he hears the whimpered cry from Riku's room. "Oh, shit!" he curses and ducks through the ajar door. Riku lays curled on his side, with worn blanket wrapped around his shoulders, blood dripping onto the bed and seeping through the sheet. "Aw, man, buddy," Rikin hisses, worried and rushes to Riku's side. He looks at the haggard figure and decidedly lifts him off the bed. Riku groans as his fresh soars are jostled. "Sorry, man," Rikin whispers and disappears into the back room.

Rikin redresses his friend in looser clothes that are stored back there for this purpose exactly and carries him out into the lobby. Outside it's snowing and Rikin curses when he realizes that he can't take Riku home on his bike in this kind of weather. He turns to where DD is sitting behind the window flipping through some porn magazine. "Hey, D, can I borrow you're car?"

Double D looks up and out the window, paying no attention to Riku. "In this crap, are you kidding?"

"Come on, D, look…"

A voice interrupts him, as someone comes in the door. "Hey, Rikin, you ready for another go?" the scantily dressed blonde asks, before seeing Riku in Rikin's arms. "Uh…should I come back later?"

D glares at Rikin over his magazine with a look that said, "You lose this customer, you're screwed." Rikin was about to panic.

"I can take him for you," a small voice offered from where he was putting on his coat. Rikin looked over to see that it was his last customer who had spoken. "Just give me the address."

Rikin gave a relieved sigh and set Riku down in a chair, then scribbled the address on a sheet of scratch, ignoring DD's glare, and handed it to the boy. He lifted Riku up and headed out, as Rikin caught the confused blonde's mouth in a seductive kiss and lead her to the back.

OoOoO

Riku wakes up enveloped in warm, soft sheets and moans, snuggling deeper under them. An arm wraps around him and he gratefully snuggles closer. "Sasha," he breathes, wrapping his arms around a well-muscled…

Riku flings himself into a sitting position to find himself staring not at Sasha, but unfamiliar brown tresses. The man lying next to him wakes up at the sudden motion and blinks large blue eyes at him. "Hmmm, oh you're awake," he states sleepily and sits up, revealing a tan, and very muscular upper body. Then I guess I should get dressed and take you home.

Still totally confused, Riku watches as the man gets dressed and heads out of the room. "You coming?" he calls from halfway down the hall.

Riku fumbles his way out of the massive bed, to see that he's dressed in loose sweats and a t-shirt and to feel aches all over his body. The memories came rushing back to him. How he was raped… He shook his head to shake the thoughts away and followed the man out to his car. "How the hell did I end up with you?" he spoke for the first time since awakening.

"Your friend Rikin needed to get you home, but he had a customer, so he entrusted me to do so for him. I took you back to my place, cleaned you up, and let you sleep for a bit, and now I'm taking you home."

OoOoO

"Sasha!" a small voice whispers, and thinking I'm hearing things, I roll over. "Sasha, wake up." A small hand nudges my shoulder. I groan and pull the covers tighter around me. The hand pushes a little harder, and I roll over to see that I'm staring into Tidus's bright blue eyes. They look full of worry.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter?" I ask the figure standing beside the bed and prop myself up on one elbow.

"Riku's not back yet," he tells me and crawls up on the bed, sitting cross-legged and staring at me.

"Well, what time is it?" I ask and sit up.

"It's almost four, Sasha, he's never gone this late." He sounds frantic where he's sitting and I tug him into my lap and wrap my arms around him protectively.

"I'm sure he's fine," I tell him and softly stroke his hair, but we can call his cell, and make sure, okay?"

Tidus nods against my chest and I reach over and pick up my own cell phone where it lays on Riku's nightstand. Absently I dial the number with one hand and listen to it ring. I start to worry when no one answers by the fourth ring, but then a voice comes on the line.

"Uh…hello."

The voice isn't Riku's. "Uh…this is Sasha, is Riku there?"

There's a long pause. "Are you at his apartment?"

"Yes," the word almost slips out as a question.

"And he's not there?"

"No, and who the hell am I speaking too?"

There's a sigh on the other line. "I'm Rikin, a…co-worker of Riku's. Look, he got pretty banged up by a customer, so I sent him home with someone like three hours ago."

I paled visibly, and Tidus looked worried. "Who'd you send him home with?"

"A customer of mine…One that I could trust," he adds as though it would help. How could I believe anyone who went to a place like that was trustworthy?

"What was his name, Rikin?" It comes out a growl.

Rikin gulps. "His name's…"

A knock at the door interrupts him. Tidus flies off my lap and yanks the door open. "Riku!" he cries happily, and I hang up without even murmuring a goodbye, and shuffle out to meet him. Past where Riku stands in the door I can see barely make out the car that must have dropped him off pulling away through the snow. Somehow, it looks oddly familiar, but my attention is quickly drawn from it.

"I just got off the phone with a guy named Rikin that said you got 'pretty banged up.'" I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Are you okay?"

He runs his hands absently down my back. "Yeah, I'm fine."

OoOoO

It goes on like this for months. Riku went out every night to work. Tidus close to every other. Riku hasn't come home late ever since, and Tidus hasn't had any special assignments. Everything has been going as close to okay as it could when the people paying rent and buying meals are prostitutes and a part time secretary.

But tonight wasn't going to be like any other night…

Tidus left his customer asleep on the soiled sheets and made his way to the lobby to meet Riku and head home. Riku should have been there waiting for him, but he wasn't. "Yo, D," Tidus called to the manager, who was sitting with his feet propped up on the counter. "You seen Riku?"

D thought a minute. "It's Thursday, kid, Riku makes a house call every Thursday."

Tidus looked taken aback. Riku had never mentioned making house calls to him before. "Oh, right, guess I forgot," he lied. Tidus pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Riku's number.

OoOoO

Riku was vaguely aware of his phone ringing in the next room, but the searing kisses from his lover were too pleasurable for him to go answer it. In the back of his mind he felt like he was forgetting something, but when a hand strayed further down his stomach he pushed the thoughts away.

OoOoO

"Dammit, Riku, pick up your stupid phone," he growled into his cell before hanging up. "Idiot," he murmured, than started to dial Sasha's cell number, but hung up before he finished. Sasha wouldn't be able to get him because her ride, Riku's bike, was here. Calling her would only worry her. So Tidus plopped himself down in one of the chairs and waited.

About the time he got comfortable in the wooden chair, Double D noticed that he was still there. "Kid, there's a guy in the last room, if you're just gonna sit there, you might as well make yourself useful."

Tidus would have preferred to decline DD's offer, but the glare that the manager shot him changed his mind. "I'm goin'," he murmured. Riku was so screwed when Tidus saw him again.

"Yo," he tried to sound confident as he pushed the door open, but the racket he had heard on his way up nearly extinguished any confidence he had had. He dragged his gaze from his shoes to face the cause of the ruckus and his eyes could only widen with horror. There were only four, he counted, but they weren't the pretty boys that normally came in groups. These were burly, strong men who were just looking for some dirty fun. Tidus' panic grew to a near fever pitch as one man made his way toward him and leaned down to look him over.

"Little bit scrawny for my taste," he pushed several strand of hair from Tidus' face, "But purdy enough I reckon'." Tidus could smell alcohol on his breath and hear his drunken slur.

He backed himself against the door and squinted his eyes shut as a tongue flicked over his neck and up his cheek. He steeled himself for what was coming next, because he knew it could only get worse from here.

He didn't know how many times, by how many men it had been when the dam had broken and he had just started screaming. He begged them to stop and to leave him alone. He cried out with every thrust that rocked his body. He could no longer distinguish where his arms ended and torso began; the pain had made his entire body feel the same, and yet all he could do was scream and beg for it to end.

OoOoO

Rikin, two rooms away, had just been shoved onto a bed when he had heard the screams. He wouldn't have bothered to move from his position beneath his partner had he not recognized the cries. "Oh, God, Tidus." He roughly shoved the customer off him and bolted out of the room, ignoring the curses that followed.

He yanked the door knob to the room Tidus was in to find it locked. "Dammit!" he cursed and pounded on the door. "Open the door!" he ordered. There was no response. He slammed his fist harder against the door to no avail. "Open the fucking door!"

Laughter followed this outburst, but amidst that a desperate cry of "Help, Rikin," made it to his ears. "Oh, God," he breathed, "Hang in there, kid." Then he bolted to the lobby, swinging around the door post.

Double D saw him and shot him a glare, as did his former customer who was leaning on the counter. Rikin ignored the later. "D, I need the key to the last room. The assholes locked the door, and Tidus is screaming bloody murder."

D, seeming to have forgotten the disgruntled customer, snatched a key off the wall and lumbered after Rikin. He thrust the key into the lock and yanked the door open so hard it broke off the top hinge. He stormed into the trashed room and yanked the man that currently had Tidus pinned to the bed off him with surprising strength. The man cursed and made to lunge at D, but the taller, larger man caught him in the chest with his foot and sent him sprawling again. "Nobody fucks up my boys like that, you hear me?" He jammed his toe into the man's ribcage to emphasize the point, and shot glares at his comrades. "Now, get the hell out, and don't show up here again!" Now that his job was done, D lumbered back out, leaving Tidus to Rikin.

Rikin hadn't really expected him to stick around and made his way over to Tidus. He had to resist the urge to retch when he saw Tidus' battered figure. Blood and tears among other things striped his face. His lip was split and blood trickled from the cut. His left eye was swollen shut and the other showed signs of bruising. His body was a mottled mosaic of bites and bruises and scratches, with thin lines of blood adding a sickening grotesqueness to the tableau. Rikin was horrified as he picked up the boy's ravished figure so he could to the visible damage. As he looked down at the figure in his arms that was slowly drifting into unconsciousness, he realized that he could never fix whatever mental damage those men had caused him.

It didn't take Rikin long to bandage and apply balm to Tidus' battered body, and though he had been severely bruised in a lot of places, nothing appeared to be broken. Rikin sat back and sighed. Riku hadn't come back yet, and despite all odds, he was what Tidus needed the most. But when after a half an hour had past and Riku still hadn't arrived, Rikin panicked and called his cell phone.

OoOoO

Riku's bag in the corner started to ring. His customer thought of going and answering, but changed his mind. Whoever was calling might not want to know that Riku was a prostitute, selling himself to another man. So he ignored the phone and decided to tell Riku it had rung when he got out of the shower.

OoOoO

"Dammit, Riku, where the hell are you!" Rikin snarled at the phone as though it would help. "You stupid asshole, Tidus needs you and you won't answer your goddamned phone!"

Then he remembered something. The night Riku was raped, a girl had called. Rikin didn't know who the hell she was, but maybe she could help. He ransacked Tidus' locker till he found his cell phone. He opened the phone book to find only four numbers there, his, Riku's, D's and a girl named Sasha. He dialed the number. A panicked voice on the other line answered.

"Tidus, omigod, where are you? Are you alright?..."

"This is Sasha right?" Rikin interrupted.

The voice abruptly stopped. "Yes, who is this?"

Rikin inhaled deeply. The last time he had been on the phone with this woman she'd bitten his head off. "This is Rikin. I think we've talked once before. Look, I'm gonna make this brief. I don't have one goddamned fucking clue where Riku is at the moment, but Tidus is really fucked up. My first preference would have been to bring him to Riku, but as I explained, that's not an option. Can I bring Tidus to your place, where ever that is?"

There was silence on the other end for a long moment, then, "Yeah, I'm at Riku's, just bring him here." There was another pause, and Rikin was about to hang up. "Rikin," she paused and he could hear her voice shaking on the other end as well as her ragged breathing, "Is he going to be okay?"

Rikin looked over at the unconscious figure lying across the wooden bench. "I hope so." Then he hung up.

OoOoO

I heard the knock on the door and bolted toward it, unlocking it and opening it in the same motion. Rikin stood there, a ragged figure in his arms, one that I hardly recognized as Tidus under all the bruises. "Oh, my God," I breathed, and backed up so Rikin could come in. I closed the door behind him and led him to Tidus' bedroom. Rikin laid him on the bed, and then sat down in the chair by the dresser in the corner. He tilted his head back and exhaled loudly. "I cleaned him up pretty good. The physical damage'll go away soon enough, but I can't say what kinda mental state he's gonna be in when he pulls through, you know?"

I nodded and locked eyes with him. "Why did this happen? Where was Riku? How did it get this bad? Why didn't Riku stop it before this point?"

Rikin realized with a start what I was aiming at. "Riku never told you? He makes a house call on Thursdays, normally just to this one guy; he's been doing that since right after he was raped."

"House call?"

"Yeah, the guy picks him up and takes him back to his place where they…yeah. Every once in a while you'll find people that think the building we work in is too…disgusting…to actually do it in, so they 'rent us out'." Rikin paused, "I don't know where he is, though normally he'd be back by now."

I didn't like this answer. At the moment I was torn between mortification at what had been done to Tidus and anger that Riku hadn't been there to stop it. I snatched my cell phone from where it sat on the dresser and stomped out into the kitchen to dial Riku's number.

OoOoO

Riku's phone rang again, and this time, figuring it had to be important, Riku's customer answered. "Hello," he answered.

"Uh…is Riku there?"

OoOoO

The person who answered was definitely not Riku, but the voice did sound vaguely familiar. "Uh…is Riku there."

"He's in the shower, do you want me to tell him anything?" the voice on the other end was surprisingly calm, despite that it had to know it was talking to someone that was not a "customer."

"Yeah," I managed, still trying to place the voice, "Can you tell him that Sasha needs him home now?"

"Sasha?" the voice on the other line questioned.

I didn't answer, just hurled the phone across the room, letting it shatter against the wall and fell to the floor with a thump and a sob. Rikin stumbled through the dark hallway hearing me fall then stopped when he saw the broken cell phone at the base of the wall and me sitting on the floor sobbing into my knees.

"Sasha?" he asked. "Hey, Sasha is everything okay?"

I shook my head weakly.

"Is Riku alright?" he asked, figuring that had to be what was wrong.

"The stupid asshole's just fine. He's taking a shower in some plush apartment."

"Sasha, I don't understand."

"Riku's been sleeping with my ex for the past five months!" I screamed, and then broke down in great gasping sobs. Rikin really didn't know what to do, but he wrapped his arms around me anyway, letting me cry out all the hurt.

OoOoO

It was too bad Rikin wasn't the one to answer the door.

I heard the quiet knock on the door and steeled myself for whoever was on the other side. Sure enough, there stood Riku and Sora, both wearing sheepish expressions.

"Sasha, look, I'm really sorry, I didn't know…"

"Shut up." I could feel tears forcing their way from the corners of my eyes.

"Sasha…"

I looked up at Sora, tears now streaming down my cheeks. "I told you to shut the fuck up, Sora, this has nothing to do with you anymore. Get lost!"

"Sasha…"

One more glare sent him back down the steps and making his way toward the car. My iced over violet eyes met Riku's. "And you…" I backhanded him across the face hard enough that his head snapped to one side and a gash opened below his eye from my ring.

"I deserved that, I know, and I'm sorry. I should have told you I was making house calls. I should have checked it with you and Tidus first. I'm sorry."

Hearing him mention Tidus made me remember why this had started. "You're damn right you should have!" I glared up at him, standing only inches away. "You wanna know what happened because you were at your fucking house call?"

Riku didn't like the tone of her voice, the way it had dropped from near hysteria to deadly calm in seconds. "What?" he managed, looking down at me and meeting my eyes.

"Because you were fucking Sora," my voice choked off and rose back to a fever pitch of hysteria, "Because you were fucking Sora, Tidus got raped, because you weren't there, he's lying unconscious, mottled with bruises." In reality, I didn't know if had Riku been there he would have been able to stop what took place, but it felt like the right thing to tell him. "It's all your fault, Riku!" Hysteria was too small a word to describe what I was feeling. There was no word for the rush of anger and hurt that coursed though me. "I don't ever want to see you again," I breathed and looked down at my feet, then slammed the door in his face and trudged inside.

OoOoO

"Sasha, where am I gonna go then?" he called through the door, moving to open it, but it was already locked.

"I don't give a fuck, Riku," was her answer.

Riku reached into his pocket for his key, and then remembered he hadn't brought it for fear that he'd forget it at Sora's. "Dammit," he swore, then looked back at the door, pondering whether or not to beg one more time for Sasha to forgive him. He decided against it. There was no use trying to talk to her when she was like this, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way toward Sensual Healing, where his bike was. From there, he thought he'd go to Rikin's place.

OoOoO

I stared for forlornly at the door, wondering whether or not it was right to send Riku away. Then, thinking of Tidus, I decided that it was. Rikin met me at the doorway to Tidus' room.

"I don't want you going in there like this. You're strung too tight, and you know it." He looked down at me.

"What the fuck do you mean; you're not going to let me in there. This isn't your apartment…" I made to shove him out of the way, but he caught my shoulders, holding me still.

"See what I mean? You can talk to him in the morning, but right now, you need to cool it and get some rest, okay?"

I felt the weariness I'd been holding at bay overcome me as though his words had triggered it. I collapsed against him, sobbing. "Shhh," he soothed lifting me up. He carried me to Riku's and my room, and laid me on the bed, tucking the sheets around me softly. "Go to sleep, it'll all be okay in the morning."

OoOoO

Riku knocked on Rikin's town house door. After several moments he was sure no one was home, but then a tired looking figure opened the door. "Riku!" the girl sounded surprised to see him.

"Hey, Cori," he greeted. He was probably the only person, other than her brother that didn't use the pet name "Candy" that she went by for work. "Can I talk to your brother?"

"Sorry, Riku, but Rikin's not here. He hasn't gotten back yet, and he hasn't called either." She studied his rain soaked figure closely. "You wanna come in?"

"That would be great."

She let him in and went to get hot chocolate out of the cupboard. "Riku, is something the matter?" she asked putting water on to boil, not turning to look at him.

"Nah, I'm fine," he lied.

Cori poured the water into mugs and dumped the hot chocolate powder in after. She set the mugs on the table. "I don't believe you, but I'll leave you alone for now." They sat in companionable silence after that.

Harsh ringing from the phone broke said silence. Cori reached over and answered it. "Yo."

"Hey, Cori, I'm not sure I'm gonna be coming home. Tidus got pretty banged up tonight, and Riku's girlfriend's kinda bent up about it. Understand?"

Riku watched as Cori's face contorted with worry. "He's gonna be alright, right, Rik?"

"Yeah, he should be fine, I'm just bein' precautious, you know."

"Yeah, okay. Seya tomorrow then."

"You gonna be okay home alone?"

"I'm not alone, Riku's here. I'll be fine. Seya, bro." She hung up and turned her attention back to Riku. "Your moodiness couldn't possibly have anything to do with Tidus and your girlfriend, could it?"

Riku's attention snapped back to her. "Was that Rikin?"

"Yeah, he's at your place. Now, are you going to answer the question or not?"

Riku sighed, now that Cori knew that little bit, she would spend the rest of the night pulling information out of him. Might as well get it over with.

Cori listened to the story with interest. She hated sad endings, and was already plotting ways to bring the two crushed lovers back together.

OoOoO

I awoke in a bed that felt strangely empty. I sat up, looked around, and realized why. Riku wasn't here. I'd sent him away for sleeping with Sora and for letting Tidus get raped. I wanted to feel angry at him for what he had done, but at the moment all I could feel was utter loneliness. I tried to go back to sleep, but the emptiness of the bed and the lack of warm arms wrapped around me forced me into awareness.

Still, tired, I dragged myself out of bed, and made my way toward the living room where maybe I could fall asleep watching some dumb movie, only to find that Rikin was asleep on the couch. The way he was sprawled out made it appear that he hadn't meant to fall asleep. I sighed, not wanting to wake him, and slowly opened the door to Tidus' room. I tiptoed inside and pulled back the covers. Careful not to jostle him, I slipped in beside him. Ever so cautiously, I snuggled myself as close to him as possible without actually touching him, just needing to feel the presence of another person as I slept.

OoOoO

Tidus woke feeling hair tickle his bare chest and opened his eyes to see Sasha asleep beside him. Her brow was furrowed as though she was deep in though, even though she was asleep. Tidus had heard her yelling at Riku. He'd heard her tell Riku that it was all his fault that he was like this. He'd heard her snap at him because apparently he'd been sleeping with the boyfriend she'd left before coming here. In all her ranting and raving, the sorrow that was so clearly expressed on her sleeping features had never been shown. Tidus reached out and brushed several wayward strands of hair from her face.

She sighed and nuzzled into the touch in her sleep, pulling closer to him.

"Sasha, I'm so sorry that he hurt you," he whispered, "I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him." Though he didn't really know it, Tidus' subconscious knew that Sasha needed Riku as bad as he needed her.

OoOoO

Rikin started into awareness hearing the phone ring. He launched himself off the couch and made his way to answer it when he realized that he wasn't in his home, but Riku's…with Riku's girlfriend. He slumped back onto the couch, ignoring the phone as the events of last night came rushing back to him. "Dammit," he cursed. He waited for another ring, then realized that Sasha wasn't going to answer the phone, whether by choice or that she was asleep, he didn't know. He groaned and fumbled his way through the dark room till he reached the phone.

"Hello," he answered, desperately hoping it wasn't Riku on the other line, lest he find himself in the middle of yet another lovers' spat, or worse, find himself blamed for the whole thing.

"Rikin, is that you?" the voice on the other line asked. Rikin nearly collapsed with relief to hear the voice was female.

"Yeah, Cori, what's up?"

"I assume you know what happened," she stated.

"Riku's been making house calls, ended up sleeping with his girlfriend's ex, and cuz he was at said house call, Tidus got banged up," he recited. "That the story you heard?"

"More or less," she answered absently. "Don't you think it's horrible that something like this could break Sasha and Riku up?"

Rikin was surprised that Cori had reacted like that, then immediately withdrew his shock. No, getting involved in things like this was something his sister was very good at. "Not particularly, why?"

Cori huffed on the other line. "You're such a guy sometimes, you know that?"

Rikin resisted the urge to answer the rhetorical question. "Get to the point, Cori."

"We have to get them back together."

Rikin would have choked had be been drinking anything. Yep, this was definitely his sister. "And how do you propose we do that, sister mine?" he asked sweetly, bracing himself for the drama his sister was about to unleash.

"Take Sasha to that club you always go to when you're not working, as you know, a date kind of thing. I'll get Riku to take me. All they have to do is see each other with another person and they'll be right back in love again!"

"Cori," Rikin's voice was deadpan.

"What?"

"You know that only works in movies, not to mention cheap cheesy romance movies that only you watch. It'll never work."

"Rikin, how can you say that we have to try," she whined piteously at him. Even though she was on the other line, Rikin knew she had her best puppy dog face on, her eyes pleading as much as her words. Rikin sighed, he never could say no to his little sister.

"Whatever."

"Yay! Rikin you're the best! It'll work, I know it will!"

"Yeah, yeah, just get Riku to the damn club, okay?"

Rikin hung up the phone. _What the hell have I gotten myself into? Now when this fails miserably Riku's gonna hate me for stealing his girl._ He ran his hands through his tousled brown hair, and turned to search for a brush, to find himself staring at Tidus.

"Do you and Cori really think you can fix it?" he asked.

"Wha…how…?"

"Your sister talks loud on the phone," he answered with a shrug. "You can fix this right?" he restated the question staring pleadingly up at Rikin.

_I am officially the biggest sucker on the planet._ If he couldn't resist his sister pleading over the phone, there was no way he could resist Tidus' overly large baby blue eyes. "Yeah, kid, I'm gonna fix it," he answered, tousling Tidus' hair, then went to borrow Riku's shower.

When he got out of the shower he could smell food, so he rushed brushing out his waist length brown hair, consequently getting the brush stuck twice before caving and tossing the wreck up in a pony tail (he usually kept it braided or down).

"Morning," he greeted sitting at the table.

Sasha turned around, "Oh, good morning. I made breakfast…or tried." She sat out a plate of blackened bacon and…burnt eggs? (Yes, it can be done says the voice of experience). "I hope it's edible, but I won't be offended if you're like Tidus here and prefer to try your luck with whatever leftovers are in the fridge. Riku did all the cooking." With those words her eyes dropped and her smile upturned itself, "When he was here that is."

"Uh…" _Great, how does one subtly hint at these things?_ "Look, my sister…" he trailed. _This sucks._ He looked up and caught Tidus' encouraging grin and continued, "My sister's taking her new boyfriend out to the local club. She wanted to know if you and I wanted to come. You know, to bring your spirits up." _That was sooooo cheesy and sooooo lame._

She looked sort of surprised by this, and Rikin worried momentarily that she would turn him down and Cori's plan would be utterly ruined. "Yeah, I think I'd like that," she answered with a lopsided grin that Rikin couldn't read.

OoOoO

"You sure you're going to fine here by yourself, Tidus," I asked again right before Rikin and I walked out the door.

"Sasha, I'll be fine," he answered with a huge smile. "I'm not a little kid, and these bruises are nuttin'."

I wanted to protest, but Rikin tugged on my arm. "We don't wanna be late. Cori really wants me to meet this guy."

"Uh…yeah," I answered, "Seya, Tidus."

Rikin's bike was a lot like Riku's, and riding on it with him reminded me too much of all the times me and Riku had ridden his. I blinked rapidly to hold back the tears and pressed my head against Rikin's back. I had to forget about it, as of right now I was with Rikin. For some reason I didn't like the sound of that.

"We're here," Rikin pronounced, getting off his bike and assisting me off. These goddamned heals made walking difficult, let alone getting off a motorcycle. Rikin wrapped a casual arm around my waist and lead me inside. I could barely see anything amidst the flashing lights and moving people. By the time my eyes had adjusted, we had reached the table where Rikin's sister and her boyfriend sat. I was left utterly speechless when I realized who was sitting with her.

"Hey, Cori," Rikin greeted, waiting for his sister to take over the coming awkward situation.

"Hiya, Rikin. I guess you already know Riku, but I wanted it to be a surprise." She smiled broadly. "And who might this be?"

"Oh…uh…this is Sasha. Sasha, Cori. Cori, Sasha." He gestured accordingly.

Riku and I still hadn't said anything to each other. "Hey, Sasha," Riku broke the tense silence. "Long time no see."

"Uh…yeah." Well this was uncomfortable. Rikin knew we were lovers, even if Cori didn't. Shouldn't he be like trying to help here?

"Oh, you two know each other? That's great!" She clapped her hands like an excited small child. "Then we can skip the getting to know each other and dance."

I should have been relaxing and just dancing with Rikin. It shouldn't have mattered that Riku had found another girlfriend this soon. I mean he was a good looking guy and all. And it wasn't like I hadn't gone and found a boyfriend too, if Rikin could really be called such.

"You're staring at him again," Rikin whispered in my ear, and I realized with a start that I was.

"Sorry," I muttered and looked away.

It was barely three minutes later, when "Sasha."

"Huh?" I found that I dragged my eyes off Riku yet again. "Oh, sorry," I offered sheepishly.

"You still have feelings for him, don't you?"

I looked up at him, guiltily prepared to see sorrow stricken features, only to find his face blank. "Yeah, I guess I do." I stared at me feet. "I'm really sorry."

"It's cool," he rushed to reassure. _Too fast there, idiot._ "I mean, Riku was a great guy. I couldn't expect you to forget him that fast."

"Yeah, I guess that's it." I still felt bad. "Hey, I'm gonna go get something to drink." I pulled away from him and made my way to the bar. "Shot of vodka," I ordered lamely.

OoOoO

Cori had been worried her plan wouldn't work out when she saw the coldness that Riku and Sasha greeted each other with. Maybe they just couldn't be brought back together. She realized that she was very mistaken when they started dancing and Riku couldn't drag his eyes from his ex-lover.

"You're still staring at her," Cori accused, drawing Riku's attention away from Sasha again.

"I'm sorry," he told her, trying to muster an affectionate look for her. For some reason he couldn't manage a genuine one, especially not with Sasha in such close proximity.

"You still like her!" Cori sounded hurt and angry.

"No…" Riku trailed, yes he did. He couldn't lie, and merely hung his head.

Cori slapped him across the face. "You selfish jerk," she hissed and stomped off toward the bathroom. Riku couldn't here her stifled giggles over the blare of the music. He just sighed and made his way toward the bar.

"Well that's two," he murmured dejectedly to himself, then noticed that Sasha was sitting alone at the bar, staring at a shot of vodka.

OoOoO

"You know you shouldn't have ordered the thing if you weren't going to drink it," a familiar voice stated and sat beside me.

I knew it was Riku, but I couldn't look up at him. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to put into words how bad I wanted him to come back. And besides, after what I'd said to him last night, even the most emotional heartfelt speech in the world shouldn't be able to bring him back.

"Riku," I started…

"I'm sorry," we both said in rushed unison, causing our heads to snap up and our eyes to meet.

Riku wrapped his arms around me. "I'm so sorry, Sasha, I should never have taken the house calls to begin with and I really should have told you about it after I had."

"No, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have blown up at you. You couldn't have known Sora was my ex, it's not like I ever told you about him, and I never asked you about your job, I shouldn't have been so harsh about it."

There were a couple more, "no it's my fault"s and then "no no, it's really my fault"s, before we headed home on Riku's bike, leaving Cori and Rikin there.

"You know you so owe me," Rikin told his sister who was sitting across from him with a huge smile on his face, "Because Riku's gonna kill me when he finds that was all a ruse."

Cori was still swaying to a tune only she could hear grinning broadly. "Yeah, I'll owe you, bro, but you won't ever make me pay you back." She smiled at him around her straw.

Rikin rolled his eyes. She was right…as usual.

**Epilogue...**

No, Riku never got back at Rikin, though he threatened on many occasions. We pulled Tidus out of the prostitute ring, much to DD's disappointment. In fact he got so mad he fired Riku. Cori and Rikin quit, and as a result DD is just about out of business, not like that's a bad thing.

Riku got a job working at restaurant. He always was a good cook, and Rikin's working there as a waiter. The income's better and there's less risks involved, what more can you ask for?

One of my co-workers, not Kira, quit and I reserved the spot for Cori in a heartbeat. She's been doing well at the job, her innocent charm being incredibly helpful.

Lastly, Riku and I have been trying to give Tidus some kind of informal education. We're not the best teachers, but things are working out. All in all it's just a whole hell of a lot better than before.

**ende **

* * *

thankyou for reading. pretty please review! i know the ending was kind of blah and predictable, but i couldn't just leave Riku kicked out of his house, what kind of ending would that have been? 

if i get enough feedback i'm thinking of writing something like what happened before this fic to the tune of how Riku and Tidus met, and having more of Rikin and Cori in it. but only if people liked this one.

much love,  
Der Traumer


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